Greg Van Avermaet has confirmed to Cyclingnews he will decide on his future in cycling after the end of the current spring Classics season but insisted he still loves racing, with sickness rather than motivation, stopping him from being near his best.
The AG2R Citroën Classics leader has Paris-Roubaix, Gent-Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke and two editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on his palmarès, but the 2023 spring campaign has been difficult and so might end up being his last.
“I still enjoy racing, I try to give my best every day. If I didn’t enjoy it I’d stop,” Van Avermaet told Cyclingnews before the start of Dwars door Vlaanderen.
I’m not 100% after being sick. But if I’d had good preparation and still ride like I’m doing now, then I’d say: ‘F*ck! There’s something wrong.’ But I know what the problem is. I’ve been sick, so I hope things will get better soon.”
“I think if I can reach a good level, I’m always close to a top ten result. I don’t think I’d win cos the others are super strong and I have my age too. But if I’m good, I can still get a top ten and that’d be nice.”
Van Avermaet fell ill after Tirreno-Adriatico and so missed Milan-San Remo and some vital training just before the Classics. He hopes his form is coming up.
“It’s hard to get back to the level because it’s super high,” he said.
“I’m hoping for better legs for Sunday and then for Paris-Roubaix too. I still have big races where I want to be good. Then we’ll see where we go for the future.”
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, 37-year-old Van Avermaet said that he had once hoped to continue racing until he turned 40 years old, but now acknowledges that either 2023 or 2024 will be his last year in the professional peloton.
“I used to want to continue until I turn 40 but not anymore,” he told the Flemish paper. “Either this is my last year or there will be another one. I’ll take stock and decide after the Classics.”
The best years of Van Avermaet’s career came with BMC in the 2016 and 2017 seasons where he took his major Classics titles and also won Tirreno-Adriatico and the Olympic Games road race in Tokyo.
Since joining AG2R in 2021, he has partnered Oliver Naesen at the head of their Classics squad, taking podiums at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Tour of Flanders along the way.
He said that he’s still competing because he believes he can compete at the top level, noting that he only wants to retire on his own terms.
“I want to decide it myself,” he said. “I’m my own…
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